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25 replies

Lowering Atlas F-Unit Fuel Tanks

C CentralFan1976OGR Forum Member

Good morning all!

 

I wanted to share with you something that bothers a lot of us; the high-water fuel tanks on Atlas F2/3s...

 

Fuel Tank Comparo 1

 

I know that I could have relatively easily swapped out the fuel tank for an Lionel one, but I didn't want the mess of having to drill and tap the frame for it.  Also, the factory Atlas speaker is not drop in to the Lionel fuel tank, so there would have been some other modifications; such as either replacing the speaker, trimming the speaker frame or relieving the die cast tank inner wall for the wider speaker.

 

So with that said, I came up with an super easy way to do it!  With a 3D-printed plastic spacer, designed for a drop-in direct factory fit.  The whole thing, including painting, took me about 15 minutes.

 

 

Fuel Tank Comparo 2

 

All you have to do is:

 

  1. Remove the fuel tank from the frame (4 screws)
  2. Remove the speaker from the tank (2 screws)
  3. Paint the spacer to match, I used Krylon Ultra-Flat Black
  4. Slide the speaker through the spacer.
  5. Reattach the speaker to the tank.
  6. Reattach the spacer and fuel tank... and Done!

 

Here's the steps in pictures...

 

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

 

Let me know if you have any questions...

 

Thanks,

- Mario

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  • Fuel Tank Comparo 1
  • Fuel Tank Comparo 2
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
Last edited by CentralFan1976
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C CentralFan1976OGR Forum Member
Originally Posted by postmastermc:

Mario, the screws are long enough with the spacer in place?

 

Thanks, Doug.

Doug,

 

Good question.

 

The factory screws are just long enough to work; personally I purchased new flat head screws so they would be more flush with the brackets, but neither one hurts the tracking of the trucks.  With the frame being thick, there was plenty of room to go to a longer screw.  I got these at ACE for $0.17 apiece.

 

7 - Copy

 

The reason I went this route instead of just putting washers underneath (which I tried with 0.050" fiber washers), was to keep the speaker housing fairly sealed.

 

When I tried the sound system with the spacers, it lost all the bass (and as the song goes, "Its all about that bass").

 

This way, it keeps it sounding great, and in fact I think it opened it up a little more because its now a bigger sound chamber.  If I wanted to go crazy, I could even make a thin rubber gasket to go in between all the layers, but I'm not crazy... or am I?

 

Thanks,

-Mario

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Last edited by CentralFan1976
FM Former Member

Just use a little black RTV between the spacer, tank, and frame when you put it back together. That will give it a nice seal, and still allow you to take it apart.... if you ever need to again.

 

and to answer your crazy question..........

Last edited by Former Member
c.samc.samOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

Mario - You're really on to something here sir.

Suggest that you target the vast number of Williams diesels (my experience is with their PA's & E7's but I'm sure the others are in dire need of your services) out there.

 

Can you post another photo of the NYC's as with everything being black, I found it difficult to see your improvement...

Last edited by c.sam
C CentralFan1976OGR Forum Member
Originally Posted by Norm Charbonneau:

Good job Mario, looks great. I should dig these out as I have a set somewhere.

Norm,

 

I know exactly where they are...

 

This is the video that started me on the road to 3RS... Great scenery, great train and great sounds.

 

Oh, one more thing... You're not going to want to put them back away until you have a few of these:

 

IMG_0955

 

Thanks,

- Mario

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FM Former Member
Originally Posted by c.sam:

Mario, the high water look is very apparent in the video you posted above,   thanks.

 

Are you going to produce these for sale?  If so, I'd like a pair for our GM&O pair...

Contact him direct Sam.

 

Apparently you're not allowed to promote the hobby by selling something here as a private individual unless you're PAYING OGR for a banner. TYPICAL OGR BS!

 

If you can't promote the hobby as a private individual and help others who are trying to do the same thing as you are, then what is this forum all about??  OH YEAH, ITS ABOUT THE ALL MIGHT DOLLAR AND PAYING FOR A BANNER! This place is a joke and I'm just about done with it.

Last edited by Former Member
J JC642OGR Forum Member
Originally Posted by CentralFan1976:

Good morning all!

 

I wanted to share with you something that bothers a lot of us; the high-water fuel tanks on Atlas F2/3s...

 

Fuel Tank Comparo 1

 

I know that I could have relatively easily swapped out the fuel tank for an Lionel one, but I didn't want the mess of having to drill and tap the frame for it.  Also, the factory Atlas speaker is not drop in to the Lionel fuel tank, so there would have been some other modifications; such as either replacing the speaker, trimming the speaker frame or relieving the die cast tank inner wall for the wider speaker.

 

So with that said, I came up with an super easy way to do it!  With a 3D-printed plastic spacer, designed for a drop-in direct factory fit.  The whole thing, including painting, took me about 15 minutes.

 

 

Fuel Tank Comparo 2

 

All you have to do is:

 

  1. Remove the fuel tank from the frame (4 screws)
  2. Remove the speaker from the tank (2 screws)
  3. Paint the spacer to match, I used Krylon Ultra-Flat Black
  4. Slide the speaker through the spacer.
  5. Reattach the speaker to the tank.
  6. Reattach the spacer and fuel tank... and Done!

 

Here's the steps in pictures...

 

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

 

Let me know if you have any questions...

 

Thanks,

- Mario

Very nice! You could go into business making that part.

As a matter of fact,  What would you charge if I sent the horribly undersized fuel tank on my Lionel SD90 and have you make that exact same piece???

Joe

C CentralFan1976OGR Forum Member
Originally Posted by JC642:
Originally Posted by CentralFan1976:

 

All you have to do is:

 

  1. Remove the fuel tank from the frame (4 screws)
  2. Remove the speaker from the tank (2 screws)
  3. Paint the spacer to match, I used Krylon Ultra-Flat Black
  4. Slide the speaker through the spacer.
  5. Reattach the speaker to the tank.
  6. Reattach the spacer and fuel tank... and Done!

 

Let me know if you have any questions...

 

Thanks,

- Mario

Very nice! You could go into business making that part.

As a matter of fact,  What would you charge if I sent the horribly undersized fuel tank on my Lionel SD90 and have you make that exact same piece???

Joe

Joe,

 

I thought the F3s had a high fuel tank!  This thing is begging for it!

 

 

Thanks,

- Mario

C CentralFan1976OGR Forum Member

Good morning!

As you may have noticed I’ve been on an F unit kick lately and that’s for a good reason; we have a new bulldog coming to the kennel. I’ve finally found an Atlas F2A 1605 shell and powered chassis for the matching 1604 I already have. She’s not perfect, but with a little love she’ll be just fine. Of course I’ve already printed the fuel tank spacers and we’ll give a quick install overview when the powered chassis arrives.


195748A6-2CED-4598-9B52-945DDAD8C213


C2502095-B47C-49A3-BE73-9F4514EB824F

She’ll fit right in…

E5F03387-61BC-40B6-B60F-F13F687714FB

Thanks!

- Mario

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  • 195748A6-2CED-4598-9B52-945DDAD8C213
  • C2502095-B47C-49A3-BE73-9F4514EB824F
  • E5F03387-61BC-40B6-B60F-F13F687714FB
Last edited by CentralFan1976

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